And Then...

It was this time two years ago when things started to change....

Autumn has that ability to bring on nostalgia, the recollecting of times gone by. It seems like yesterday where we gathered round, discussing the future and the hope we longed to see. Not intimate, but honest were our reflections and we all had searched for a church to call home, to call "family".

Thank you for inviting us to New Covenant, saying your children enjoyed it. While it wasn't your home, it became ours and we are eternally marked by Her.

It was the Christmas dinner, and feeling awkward as it was our first meal at the Seminary. As you walked past us, you grabbed my arm and said You are a part of us. I've heard you say these words to several people since then. But their power has not diminished - your touch pulled us in and I knew I had to be home.

In the cold of Winter and the New Year, after the joy of Advent, the sorrow of Lent began. I still remember walking into the sanctuary that first night, you with me not knowing fully that this one night would mark a new stage in life. This Lenten season, would make way for many more seasons in these Wednesday night prayer services. I was changed by their intimacy. One night another spoke in languages unknown and her tone brought my heart joy, it sounded like the tongue of a land I longed to be in. You reminded me of the other, and you shaped me to see more.

The Spring came forth and life began, meeting, knowing, gathering and falling in love. You were foreign to me, honestly your handicap at first intimidated me - but your hospitality was compelling and drew me in. Our first outing was magnificent, seeing creation, talking, and making memories. You would say I was a blessing, but it is you who made me see what family beyond blood could be.

Linear is how I've always thought.

Gaining.
Growing.
Changing.
Moving on.
Forward motion.

Circular is how you spoke.

Seasons.
Growth.
Maturity.
Brokenness.
Will of God.

This is a thank you.

For you've become family. Some members I know better than myself. Others still have depths I have yet to see. Most I've not spent as much as I'd like to get to know. You've marked me. You've made me. You've welcomed me. You've driven me crazy. I've cried, cursed, screamed, and sat in silence. I have spoken in joy, prophetic longing, imagination, and hope. I have sung songs for your present, and declared songs of your future fulfillment. I've been accepted, misunderstood, rejected and warmed. I guess this is family beyond name. I thank you. No matter where we go from here, I know I will thank the Lord for you and pray that the Spirit who brought us together will continue the good work She has started.